Desert Shrub May Help Some Cancer Patients

Chaparral, an evergreen desert shrub widely discredited as a purported cancer cure, may shrink some tumors when processed and used properly, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Initial tests on patients show that, when injected, it does not cause some of the serious liver damage associated with the plant, the researchers told a conference. And tests in patients with head and neck cancer show it may shrink tumors. Chaparral, also known as creosote bush, has given its name to areas of the Southwest where it dominates the landscape. Native Americans used chaparral to treat cancer, colds, wounds, bronchitis, warts, blemishes and ringworm. “Chaparral tea was used widely in the United States as an alternative anti-cancer agent from the late 1950s to the 1970s,” the American Cancer Society said in a statement. “Research has not found it to be an effective treatment for cancer or any other disease.” Studies showed it could damage the liver and kidneys and the Food and Drug Administration warned against its use. Dr. Terry Day of the Medical University of South Carolina and colleagues tested an extract taken from chaparral called nordihydroguaiaretic acid, specifically a derivative of this compound called M4N. They injected it into the tumors of eight patients with advanced head and neck cancer in a Phase I safety study. They saw some evidence it killed the tumors in these patients, who had advanced, otherwise untreatable forms of head and neck cancer. “This study revealed that M4N was generally well-tolerated without direct toxicity,” Day told the 6th International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer in Washington. They now plan a larger, Phase II study aimed at showing whether the drug really works. Head and neck cancer is very common in the United States, with more than 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year and around 11,000 deaths a year. About 55 percent of patients survive for five years. It is usually treated with surgery and radiation although a few drugs have shown some promise. Because patients usually do not realize they have cancer until it has spread, it is very hard to treat. (Source: Reuters Health News: August 2004)